I bought this particular blender for my boyfriends birthday because he likes blended margarita's and lately have been getting sub-par margarita's at one of our favorite happy hour spots. Now buying a blender proved to be a challenge as he has decorated his kitchen with all red small appliances and finding just the right shade of red has proved a little daunting in person much less on line! Not to mention making sure it is powerful enough to crush ice for a blended drink.Much to my amazement I found this one by Aroma, which I knew would be a perfect color match as the toaster is also made by Aroma! Good strong motor and plenty of blades in the carafe, what more could a girl ask for?I have used the blender several times in the past two weeks (as I am the bartender in the house) and I must say, it's pretty close to some of the blenders I've used in the bar. Gets through all that ice in pretty good time and it's completely crushed! NO chunks of ice remain in the drink.But keep in mind while blending or crushing ice, give it a good couple of minutes on high, then pulse until all the ice is crushed.